


Family Stories

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Partners [41]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Danny Agrees With Me, Especially For Emotional Moments, Established Relationship, Family, Family Feels, Feels, Fluff, M/M, Steve Needs To Be Alone Less Often
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-21 23:49:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10685421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: Just because someone’s dead doesn’t mean they’re not part of the family.AKA Steve introduces Danny and the kids to his grandfather.





	Family Stories

**Author's Note:**

> Technically, this is a replacement for the very last scene of 7X22, but literally the only thing you need to know is that Steve's dad's dad was named Steven McGarrett and died in Pearl Harbor. Since the show has mentioned both of those facts before (and I just did again) and the fic has zero to do with the rest of 7X22's plots, you don't need to have watched the ep to know what's going on.

Steve pulled out his grandfather’s trunk, sitting back on the ground and undoing the lock. Before he opened it, though, he hesitated. The last time he’d opened this trunk, he’d been back in Hawaii less than a week and the wound from his father’s murder had still been fresh. He’d been alone, as always, unable to stop thinking about absent parents and wondering how his father would have reacted if Steve had followed his grandfather’s example and died heroically before any of this had happened. How much easier it would have been, in some ways.

These days, he was almost never alone. That was just as true now as it always was, with Danny on one side of him and Grace on the other. Brandon was in Danny’s lap, all three of their faces caught somewhere between solemnity and anticipation. It was Grace’s questions about the elder Steven McGarrett that had spurred this little adventure in the first place, and all of them had expressed interest in finding out more about the man.

When Steve still didn’t move, Danny gently squeezed his leg. “If it’s going to make you sad, we don’t have to do this now,” he said quietly. “It’s going to happen eventually, because Grace inherited my burning desire to know things, but we can wait for you to make the introductions.”

“No, it’s okay.” He took a deep breath, opening the trunk. “Everyone, meet Ensign Steven McGarrett.”

Danny and Grace leaned forward, gently and carefully examining the contents inside. Brandon peered at everything for a moment, then looked up at Steve and immediately left Danny’s lap to crawl into his. Steve tightened an arm around him, touched, and Brandon settled back against him as they both watched two of the three most important people in their lives.

Grace picked up one of the photos, looking at it closely. “So he’s my step-great-grandfather, right?” she asked, looking back at Steve. “I still get to claim him even though we never met?”

Steve’s throat tightened at the thought of actually having family to give her. “I never met him either, and he’s definitely my grandfather. So yeah, he’s yours too.”

“This Daddy’s grandpa?” Brandon asked, leaning forward to look at the picture. “Like New Jersey grandpa?”

“Sort of,” Steve said, lifting out his grandfather’s dog tags and handing them to his son. “He’d be your great-grandpa, just like Grace.”

Brandon studied the small pieces of metal as if he could read what they said, then hooked the chain around his neck and patted a small hand against them. “My good grandpa,” he said happily.

“Close enough,” Steve murmured, chest tight as he pressed a kiss against the top of Brandon’s head.

Danny, who’d been quietly examining everything with an increasingly solemn expression, looked at the Purple Heart for a long moment. Then he looked over at Steve, everything he wasn’t saying so clear in his eyes that it would have been impossible not to read it.

Steve squeezed his hand, unspeakably grateful that he wasn’t in a trunk somewhere. It might have been easier, some days, but he would have missed the entire world. “I know,” he murmured, voice rough.

Danny’s expression lightened as he returned the squeeze. “Good.” Then he set the medal back down, accepting the picture Grace handed him. “Have to say, your grandpa was quite a looker.”

Steve laughed as Grace rolled her eyes. “Danno, don’t be gross.”

Danny grinned. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with appreciating a classic.” Then he took out his grandfather’s hat, setting it carefully on top of Steve’s head before stealing a quick kiss. “Even though I’m much more attached to the modern model.”

Once they broke apart, Steve couldn’t stop himself from grinning back at him. “I do have one of these of my own, you know.”

“I know, but this one is more appropriate for story time.” Danny settled back. “You had to have heard at least a few stories, right? Tell us about them.” He swept a hand over the contents of the trunk. “You even have all these lovely visual aids.”

Steve hesitated, surprised. “Are you sure? I heard a few things from my grandmother when I was younger, but nothing that exciting.” Looking back, he realized how little his family ever talked about _anything_. He and Mary were trying harder to change that now, especially after Danny had started working on him, but it was still a long habit to break.

“Family stories aren’t supposed to be exciting,” Danny responded easily, everything about him radiating reassurance. “They’re supposed to be the kind of thing you hear a hundred times over until you can recite them in your sleep. The three of us need to get started.”

“Yeah.” Grace nodded. “I’ve already heard grandma’s story about how she almost became a model at _least_ 800 times. We need some more from your side of the family.”

“Story time please,” Brandon added, nodding along with Grace. “I want stories about good grandpa.”

Steve watched them all, his chest so full it felt like he couldn’t quite draw a full breath. He hoped that, somewhere, his grandfather could see all this. Maybe it would be a comfort that, despite everything he’d missed, his family still remembered him. “Well, there was this one time….”

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my new original fiction on my [blog](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)


End file.
